Hex
by SeductiveShigure
Summary: A young trainer sets out to save his sister, vowing to find her even if it means searching all of Hoenn and beyond. On his travels, he meets a strange girl, brutally injured and near death. Saved by a miraculous wish, they begin to travel together, not knowing that they are also cursed, doomed to suffer a cruel fate together at the whims of a vengeful spirit.
1. A Cursed Death

Chapter 1: A Cursed Death

The summer sun beat down through the trees, with only the faintest trace of a breeze offering barely any respite. Even though the sun was beginning to set, the atmosphere was still hot and humid. Such was the summer in Hoenn.

Walking through the outskirts of a forest, a young man looked around. Sighing deeply, he checked his PokeNav. Surrounding the man were six, disgruntled looking Pokemon. One of them in particular, a female Pikachu, was beginning to look irate.

"Are we there yet?!" The Pikachu had her trainer by his ear, her words ringing painfully. The young man chuckled.

"You seem to be in an extra bad mood today. What did I do this time?" The Pikachu's grip tightened, causing the man to yelp. As usual, she wasn't giving him any breaks.

"I'm mad because A, we're clearly lost..."

"Hey, I'm working on that-... Ow!" He yelped again as the Pikachu exerted even more pressure to his ear.

"...and B, you've been gawking like a lecherous old man at every girl we've come across since Fortree!"

"Now to be fair..." Another Pokémon climbed onto the trainer's other shoulder, a spirited young male Minun. "The boobs on that one Ace Trainer were fantastic! And Zenea is a healthy young man, what do you expect?"

Zenea, the convicted pervert in question, nodded his head in agreement.

"But to be fair, the legs on that one Lass back a while ago were heavenly..."

"Nora! You're making it worse!" The female Pikachu puffed out her red cheeks, small angry sparks indicating her irritation. The little Minun known as 'Nora', grinned evilly in response.

"Ah, what's this? Is wittle Aria getting jealous?" The female Pikachu, known as 'Aria', had a faint blush erupt across her face.

"N-no!" She didn't have a more convincing defence and turned away, pouting.

"Let's call it a truce there guys." Zenea was checking his PokeNav once more, but it was acting odd. The screen was glitching and the reception kept dropping out. Sighing again, he put the device back in his pocket.

"It looks like we're not reaching Lilycove today. We'll have to set-up camp here." Aria audibly groaned.

"Again?! I'm so tired of sleeping outdoors. And we've got to put up with that creepy mountain in the background." She indicated the looming Mt. Pyre, well known for its haunted legends and stories.

"Oh no Master... Do we have to stay here?" A shy, female Plusle peeked out from around his leg, staring fearfully at the mountain. "You know those scary kinds of things terrify me..."

Since leaving Fortree, this little Plusle, known as Faye, had been adamant she wouldn't step one foot near the creepy mountain. Now that she was standing about a mile away from its base, Zenea could see how freaked out she was by it. Picking her up, he nuzzled her gently.

"Don't worry, you've got a team of good friends to protect you. And me too. And don't forget, you're plenty strong yourself! Who was the one who took down that terrifying Zangoose not too long ago?" Faye giggled happily as he tickled under her chin, ecstatic from the praise. If it hadn't been for Faye, he'd probably be back at the Fortree Pokémon Centre with some serious injuries. It hadn't been a friendly Zangoose. It had kept calling him really offensive names...

"Be careful, Aria might get jealous again." An exhausted, female Ninetales came up from behind him, a female Meowstic riding her head. Not far behind them was a female Absol, the newest member of his team, who he had caught a few days before. Their names were Fira, Talli and Yami respectively. Yami had been shy at first, but quickly warmed up to the group. Zenea suspected that she had been alone for a long time, and was glad to finally have the company. Fira and Talli were troublemakers, however...

"I'm not jealous! And how are you even tired Talli, you've done sweet nothing all damn day!"

"Hey, I'm the face of this team, it's hard looking this beautiful all the time!"

"Is that so? You might want to do something about your bed hair." Fira chuckled as she started collecting wood for a campfire. Talli jumped off her head, arranging stones and the wood together. As mischievous as the two were, they were a good team, co-operating effortlessly.

"Hey, today I'm going for the scruffy yet sexy look."

"I'm not going to lie, I'm not sure how well that's working out for you."

"I'm doing better than a certain scruffy mutt who looks like she dragged all nine of her tails through every bush on the way here." Talli shot back, a sly grin curling on her face. Fira looked back at her, an equally sly grin shining back in response.

"You know, you're just the right size for a nice barbecued snack. A quick flamethrower and I can dine on sweet pussy tonight."

"Inappropriate wording! Shameless, both of you!" Aria screeched at the pair, covering Faye's ears as though to protect her innocent brain. Zenea and Nora both cackled madly on the forest floor, earning a wrathful glare from the enraged, and slightly flushed Pikachu.

"It's not funny!"

"But it is though!" Nora wiped his eyes, clearing away the wetness from laughing too hard. Faye looked at him reproachfully.

"You're such a pervert Nora... Why can't you be more of a gentleman, like..." She looked at Zenea before shaking her head. "Actually no, we need to get you a better role-model".

"Did my own Pokémon just say something that hurtful to me?! Oh the gods above, what ever did I do to deserve this!" Zenea feigned hurt emotions, standing up and striking a dramatic pose. Nora followed suit, standing on his shoulder.

"We're destined to be shunned by the ones we care about, two handsome and respectable healthy young men such as we. Woe, lest we forever be trapped in the throes of these inane banshees who naught but toy with our fragile hearts." Zenea gave his electric buddy a thumbs up.

"That was pretty poetic Nora, looks like someone's been hitting the books!"

"The men here are morons, I can tell you that much." Faye sighed. Nora once again struck a dramatic pose.

"Ah, to be called a moron by the one witless wonder who does nothing more than daydream about the unusual image of a Tangela's butthole.

"CAN WE PLEASE FORGET THE TANGELA INCIDENT EVER HAPPENED... PLEASE?!"

It was now Fira and Talli's turn to laugh maniacally, remembering the incident a few months before where the unfortunate Plusle had faced off against a Tangela who misjudged a vine constriction attack. The two Pokémon had become so badly tangled the match had to be called off as the two trainers worked for literally hours trying to untangle the unfortunate pair, with Faye spending the better part of that time constricted to the other Pokémon's anus. To the Tangela's defence, he had been apologising non-stop the whole time.

"That poor creature, he was so embarrassed." Talli giggled. "I do think he was rather attracted to you Faye."

"I'll bet that was because her butt was in his face the whole time. It looked like some sort of bizarre mating ritual from where I stood." Fira was howling with laughter. Faye pouted, scurrying up to Zenea's shoulder and kicking Nora to the ground.

"What was that for?!"

"I don't know! I needed to punch something." Faye growled. Zenea stroked the top of her head, earning a smile from the over-teased Pokémon. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear.

"The whole time you were tied up, Nora was really worried. He thought you were going to suffocate or something. He likes to tease, but he really does care for you." A radiant grin burst forth from the little Pokémon, blushing madly. It wasn't at all lost on Zenea that Faye had a bit of a thing for the harmless flirt, even though Nora occasionally took it too far.

The usually quiet Yami had been hiding in the background, trying to hide her silent giggles as she watched the spectacle. Sneaking up behind her, Nora suddenly jumped on her head.

"You're cute when you act like this, y'know that Yami?" The dark-type Pokémon looked up at him in surprise, the sudden cross-eyed look causing her to look even more adorable. Faye's happy smile was instantly replaced with jealous rage as she began slowly climbing down Zenea's leg, planning to sneak up on the so-called 'harmless flirt'. Zenea himself was face palming, for his attempts at fixing Nora's mess somehow turned into a bigger mess.

"What do you mean...? Nobody's ever called me cute before..."

"And it's round one in the fight for Nora's affections, with newcomer Yami suddenly taking the lead. What are your thoughts on the situation Fira?" Talli began a sports-esque commentary as Yami suddenly looked embarrassed, if a little happy.

"Well Talli, we know that Yami-yami is a sweet, kind and gentle creature, despite what her Pokédex entry says about her-..."

"Wait, what does my Pokédex entry say about me?!" Yami jumped in, suddenly sounding very worried.

"...and we all know she's got that certain charm about her that speaks of a shy young maiden who likes cuddles under a starlit sky, much like tonight now that the sun's gone. I think her chances are quite high actually!"

"But with Faye on the home turf, who's known the naughty Minun since Mauville, she has the experience and memories to use to her advantage. Plus it helps she may or may not be a closet pervert, something that Nora seems to enjoy in a girl." Talli rattled off like a machine-gun, whilst Nora grinned, holding his head embarrassed.

"What can I say, I like all kinds of girls."

"Aww... And there was me thinking I was your one and only special girl." Yami feigned a rejected line, mimicking Nora's act from earlier. Jumping up behind him, the jealousy-fuelled Plusle caught Nora in a headlock.

"How many hearts are you gonna play with before you settle down, you womanising jerk?!" Her rage was on fire. Nora was tapping her arm, looking at Zenea for help.

"I'd love to buddy, but I've gone a whole week without being electrocuted by anyone. I'm hoping to keep the streak going a little longer." Zenea grinned at Nora's semi-betrayed expression as the trainer got the campfire going, finally flopping down next to the flames Fira had ignited, cracking open a beer.

"Our Master everyone, about as useful as a sack of wet, drunken Pidgeys." Aria grinned slyly at the trainer as he happily sipped at his beverage.

"Still doesn't stop you from having a strange crush on him, huh?" Nora had escaped Faye's headlock and was currently using Aria as a shield between Faye and himself.

"I don't wanna hear that from the pervert looking up Vulpix porn on the PokéNav!"

"So that's why my search history was looking so weird." Zenea giggled. He had been confused about it, but had suspected the little electric Pokémon had been up to something.

"W-what?! I didn't do that!" Nora looked fearfully at Fira. "You've gotta believe me!"

The fire Pokémon who had once been a Vulpix up until a few months ago had looked surprised for a split second. She put her paw to her face, feigning bashfulness.

"I may not be a Vulpix anymore, but please..." She looked up at him with an evil smile. "Be gentle..."

"And the nine-tailed fox steps into the fray, abandoning her fellow commentator for a chance at the game of love. It was a great partnership whilst it lasted. The road is a lonely one now, but I'll cheer on! For love is something worth fighting for!" Talli acted a pseudo-sorrowful monologue as the chaos unfolded further.

"Ah, there's no need to be a drama queen. I'm getting involved due to mating season being around the corner." The flirtatious Fira circled the now terrified looking Nora, who was quickly beginning to realise how screwed he was.

Whilst the gang laughed and teased each other, two shadows were watching them from the trees. They peered down to the group below, observing them curiously.

"Are humans and their Pokémon partners always this amusing?"

"I don't know. I haven't spent any time with them." As the firelight illuminated the two silhouettes, a small, light green fairy Pokémon and another, yellow Pokémon with a star-shaped head could be faintly seen.

"Celebi, what do you think?"

"I don't know, I don't know..." The mystical Pokémon Celebi looked worried. "But I sense that something might go wrong soon."

"What do you mean?"

Celebi turned to face the other mystical Pokémon, Jirachi, with a frightened look on its face.

"I can smell blood."

Back down at the camp, Zenea was highly amused watching the spectacle his Pokémon were showing. There wasn't a TV in the world that could beat the comedy his friends were displaying to him right now.

As he continued to sip his beer, he heard a sudden rustle in the trees behind him. It sounded like an animal.

"What was t-..." He didn't get to finish his sentence. His mind was too preoccupied with the sight of a girl staggering towards them, blood dripping from several serious looking injuries. If he had the spare brain power to process it, he would've noticed her clothing looked like a sexier version of the Hex Maniacs he'd seen on his travels. More skin showing whilst keeping with the dark colours. Her hair was jet-black with a single streak of electric blue coming from her bangs, tied down in a low-style ponytail. But his focus was less on her appearance and more about getting off his ass and catching her before she fell to the ground.

"Guys! Get my first aid kit. Nora, grab my PokéNav and call for help!"

His Pokémon had been in just as much shock as he had been, but immediately rushed to his orders.

"What the hell happened to you?" Zenea whispered as he held the bleeding girl in his arms. The girl looked delirious and a small grin appeared on her face. The blood on her teeth gave her an eerily toothless appearance.

"...wild Pokémon... out of... control... you feel... warm..." She lurched as pain appeared to lance through her body.

"H-hey, you gotta relax. Try not to talk..." As much as he wanted to reassure her, her injuries were really severe. He wasn't sure if she was going to make it.

"...my... na...*cough* name..."

"H-hey...!"

"...C-charlotte..." Charlotte as she seemed to be called, was reaching a hand towards his face. Blood dripped down his cheek as she touched him gently.

"...please don't... please don't forget... me..."

He watched as the hand dropped back to her side, her eyes rolling back and her breathing ceased.

"Nononono, don't do this to me! Come on Charlotte, stay with me!" Laying her down flat in the ground, he began performing CPR, furiously pumping her chest with his intertwined hands.

"Nora, PokéNav?"

"It keeps glitching, I can't do anything with it!"

"Okay, change of plan..." Quickly grabbing her wrist, he shut his eyes and concentrated, but he couldn't feel any kind of pulse. Returning to the CPR, he looked back at the frightened Minun.

"Now... I'm going to stop for a few seconds... In that time... I need you to give her a short charge. Just a little... stronger than what you normally do... to me. Got it?" Nora nodded, the fear being replaced by a sudden determination.

"Okay, three, two, one, go!" Jumping back from Charlotte's lifeless form, Nora jumped onto her, releasing a quick burst of electricity. Her body lurched again as the charge raced through her system. Zenea was praying it would give her heart the quick start she needed as a makeshift defibrillator. Nora jumped off the girl and Zenea grabbed her wrist once again.

After an agonising few seconds of concentrating, trying to ignore his own pulse echoing in his brain, he felt it. It was faint, but he could feel a heartbeat.

Rushing up to her face, he put his ear to her mouth and watched her chest. Slowly but surely, he could feel her breath on his face, and could see her chest rising and falling.

Somehow, they had miraculously saved her. Turning to face Nora, who still wasn't sure if his shock had worked, Zenea smiled.

"Good job buddy. Now the girls can't ever call you useless anymore." Nora looked ecstatic, tears forming around the corner of his eyes.

"It's great she's alive, but she still needs treatment!" Fira threw the first aid bag towards Zenea, who unzipped it and started pulling out disinfectant and bandages.

"I'm on it. Nora, keep trying with the PokéNav. It figures when we need it most it starts funking out on us. Anyone with opposable thumbs, help me with bandages. Everyone else, keep that fire burning hot with as much wood and flame as possible!"

Up in the trees, the two legendary Pokémon watched, shocked at what had happened.

"So that's what you meant by smelling blood..." Jirachi whispered. Celebi's eyes were wide. The way that human trainer had saved the girl was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

"Jirachi, is there anything we can do to help? That girl might not make it a second time if her injuries get the better of her again..."

"I can do something, but..." He turned to face the frightened Celebi. "We'd have to reveal ourselves..."

Looking back at the camp, watching how hard the trainer and the Pokémon were working to save the girl, Celebi's expression softened.

"I think... We can trust him."

Back on the ground, Zenea was freaking out. Charlotte's bleeding had stopped, but her pulse was still dangerously weak. He was worried they would still lose her.

"Anything from the 'Nav?"

"Nothing!" Nora sounded close to a mental breakdown as he mashed the buttons on the touchscreen. Faye was standing behind him, her face distraught.

"Come on wireless technology, co-operate with me here."

"It's the mountain." Yami said, looking over towards Mt. Pyre fearfully. "I've heard other trainers walking past my old home complaining about technology not working very well near that place."

"Great, ghosts are haunting my phone, fantastic."

Zenea had been looking at Charlotte's face as he had been bandaging her wounds, looking for any flicker of consciousness. Unlikely with the amount of damage she had sustained, but he was praying hard. Looking down for a split second, he tightened the knot on the bandage he'd been working on before looking up again, only to have the second near-heart stopping shock of the evening.

"Yo!" The star-shaped head of the legendary Pokémon, Jirachi was grinning at him. To his side stood the time-travelling fairy, Celebi. It bowed gently in front of his, speaking shyly.

"Hello. We've come to give you a helping hand."

Mouth gaping open, his brain wasn't prepared for this. Zenea looked at both mystical Pokémon utterly dumbfounded. The rest of the Pokémon wore similar expressions.

"B-but... why?"

Jirachi laughed. It sounded kind of cute.

"We saw you save this girl, like a champ. And we just happened to be around, watching from the trees."

"But her injuries, they won't allow her to make it to the nearest medical centre. She wouldn't survive the trip." Celebi said sadly, looking at Charlotte's battered form.

"So here's the thing hero. I'm going to grant you a single wish." The star Pokémon had turned serious, its determination showing in its eyes. "Will you save her?"

"Wait, why do you need to ask?!" Zenea didn't understand why the wish granting Pokémon couldn't just heal the girl itself.

"It's... complicated." Jirachi looked away. In his place, Celebi spoke up.

"There is a complex magic at work that's preventing him from freely using wishes. But for whatever reason, he can still grant the wish of a human."

Looking at the suddenly downcast star Pokémon, Zenea nodded in understanding. Complicated explanations could wait, Charlotte needed every second right now.

"In that case. Jirachi, will you please save my friend? Will you please... save Charlotte?"

The star Pokémon's smile had returned. Standing over the injured girl, the Pokémon held out his small arms and said...

"You wish shall be granted!"

A brilliant light erupted around them, enveloping Charlotte's body. The blood began to vanish, as well as the injuries all over her. Celebi looked at the girl, smiling fervently. Until suddenly it looked up towards the sky, then rapidly back to Charlotte. The yellow light was now tinged with an eerie, haunted green.

"Jirachi!"

"I know, but I can't stop!"

The green light had enveloped Zenea. Suddenly, his whole body was wracked with pain, as though he was being attacked by some invisible creature.

"ARRRRGGGHHHHHH." He screamed to the heavens as unimaginable pain seared through his system. His Pokémon looked at him, terrified.

"What's happening to him?!"

"Master!"

"Zenea!" Aria raced towards him, but was stopped by Celebi.

"Stay back, this magic could harm you too!"

"But-...!"

And suddenly, the light faded. Charlotte's injuries had completely vanished, and she was resting peacefully. Zenea too, had apparently fallen unconscious, with no visible sign of injury.

"Wha-..." Aria looked at him, scared. She turned to the two mystical Pokémon, her rage getting the better of her. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!"

The two looked at each other, before quickly looking to the sky. Unknown to the rest of the group, the healed Charlotte cracked open an eye blearily, just in time to see an albino creature looking down towards them before suddenly flying away.

"...Mortissa..."

* * *

 _I have a Facebook page and frequently post updates on my various projects there. Link is in my profile, check it out! :D_


	2. Morning Stars

"I'm alive...?"

Opening her eyes blearily, her surroundings slowly faded into view. She had apparently woken up in some sort of tent.

Surprised as she was, more pressing matters suddenly came to mind. Like, how had she survived the previous night?

Hearing a rustling sound from her left, she turned her head to be greeted by her second surprise of the day. A strange man was sleeping in the sleeping bag beside her.

"I wasn't expecting that if I'm being totally honest..."

After poking the man's cheek gently, and receiving no reaction whatsoever, Charlotte slowly began to realize that this was the man who she had bumped into the night before. The reason she was alive now probably had something to do with him.

"Interesting..." She grinned mischievously as she snuggled in a little closer to her mysterious savior.

About ten minutes later, Zenea slowly roused into consciousness.

"What the hell happened?" His head was a little sore, immediately suspecting a hangover to be the cause, but none of the other symptoms were there. He just had a strange headache.

His pain was quickly replaced with horror and fear as he suddenly heard a satisfied, feminine moan coming from his right. Then he quickly realized somebody was snuggled into him and gently blowing on his ear.  
Turning his head gently, his eyes met with a mostly nude Charlotte, barely covered by the tiny excuse of cloth he called a sleeping bag. With a flirtatious grin, she fluttered her eyelashes with an irresistible cuteness.

"Last night was _amazing_!"

He would never forget that this was the day that all of his Pokémon had unanimously decided that he had the most feminine scream in the world.

The Pokémon sleeping outside woke up in a startled panic. Not a second later, his tent was invaded by all who could fit, and he found himself making excuses to an incredibly pissed-off Pikachu.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"

"Aria, I can explain...-" A small, but incredibly angry sounding Thunderbolt narrowly missed his face, tearing a small hole into the tent's fabric, singeing it with a sizzling whisper.

"Nothing can really explain why you're in bed with a naked girl who had basically died for a minute yesterday-..."

"I died for a minute!? WHAT!?"

"I can see a nipple!" Several female screams followed Nora's hormonal outburst. It was some time before order was restored to the chaotic party. The aftermath was not pretty.

...

"So what happened to us exactly?"

Both Charlotte and Zenea were gently cradling their heads with one hand whilst trying to wolf down some hastily made food with the other. The reason being that they now both had some strange headache, which had Jirachi and Celebi incredibly worried, which did nothing to alleviate their worries.

"We believe... You two may have been cursed." Celebi looked at the two young trainers as though they were about to drop-dead any second. Zenea immediately began to choke, with Charlotte looking dumbfounded as a piece of food hung out of her mouth. It would have been funny to watch if the two weren't currently thinking about imminent death.

"Are you joking!? What do you mean, we're cursed!?" Zenea had turned deathly pale. He had never been a big fan of scary stories as a child, and he had been absolutely terrified of the potential powers of curses. It was the reason why he'd never teach the move to a ghost Pokémon, if he had ever caught one.

"Well, the good news is that we stopped the curse spreading, so it's effects should be minimal..." Jirachi's input was a little reassuring.

"Well that doesn't sound too bad-"

"We think..."

Grabbing the Wish Pokémon by the head, Charlotte looked ready to punch him.

"What in the name of all that lies before Arceus do you mean 'you think'!?" She growled, her eyes looking terrifying.

"W-well..." Celebi looked ready to cry. "We've never seen a curse like this before. We're not sure what its actually capable of, except for its current observable effects."

"And what are these current effects?"

"Well..."

"Here, let me demonstrate!" Jirachi wiggled out of Charlotte's grip, and gave her a knock on the head.

"Ow, what the hell did you do that for!?"

"Why- " Zenea was holding his head, wide-eyed in shock, in the exact same spot Charlotte got hit. "-did that hurt me too?"

"That's what we know about the curse at the moment. You can both feel each others pain."

It took a moment for that to fully sink in. Charlotte and Zenea both glanced at each other, shock and disbelief clouding their eyes.

"How do we... get rid of the curse?" Charlotte nervously stuttered out. Jirachi looked thoughtful, looking at Celebi.

"I think the only way we'll fix this mess is to find the original caster. That's how it usually goes, right?" Celebi nodded in agreement.

"Curses are powerful. Or rather, this particular type of curse, known only as a 'Hex', can only be controlled by a powerful psychic. We need to find the caster to have any hope of setting you both free."

"And the good news is-" Jirachi jumped onto Zenea's head. "We know that we can sense the same kind of psychic energy coming from Lilycove."

The group had been heading towards Lilycove anyway, which would have meant good news. Except that the reason Zenea had been heading to the seaside town wasn't an altogether pleasant one.

And as much as he wanted to deny it, his gut was telling him that these events were connected.

"What concerns me though, is how did _you_ end up in this mess?" Celebi turned to Charlotte, with an expression close to pity fluttering across the Pokémon's expression.

"Not only did you get attacked last night by a rampaging Pokémon, you somehow ended up cursed. And a Pokémon going berserk would likely have a reason to be losing control of its senses. What can you remember?"

Holding her aching head, Charlotte tried to remember the events of the previous night. She could see flames and a burning forest in her mind's eye.

...

Running through the forest, the young trainer was panting heavily, clearly exhausted. Her left upper arm was bruised and bloody, and she clutched onto it as she ran.  
Roar's followed close behind as the huge Pokémon stomped behind her, clearly out of its mind. She wasn't even sure what it was. All she knew is that if she stopped now, she'd probably make a decent enough meal for it.

"Mimikyu!" The Poké Ball in her good arm's hand exploded with light, and the ghost Pokémon appeared, flying behind her as the two ran from the angry, terrifying sounds behind them.

"Mimikyu, shoot a Shadow Ball behind us, try and slow it down!" The Pokémon cried in acknowledgement, and she heard the little Pokémon fire off the powerful dark move into the darkness. A loud roar told her the attack had been on target. But another, more angered roar told her it hadn't done much to stop the beast.

A tree branch whipped into her already injured arm as she continued running for her life, causing her to stumble. Losing her footing, she tripped onto the ground, landing on her back. Grunting in pain, she looked towards the darkness. She could barely see the angered Pokémon behind her, but it was tearing down trees in its path.  
A flash of green light illuminated the forest as something whizzed overhead. Looking up to the night sky, Charlotte saw the cause of the beast's anger.

"Mortissa!" Screaming towards the sky, Charlotte stood up and started to run again, chasing after her antagonist. She caught sight of it again, and now she was sure it was who she thought it was.

Mortissa, the rogue, albino Haunter. The ghost Pokémon had been tormenting the young trainer endlessly.  
From what she had heard, the ghost Pokémon was actually possessed by the spirit of a young girl who had died in a mansion. Not believing the stories, but fascinated by the dark mystery, Charlotte had been foolish enough to sneak into the mansion, and had angered the spirits resting there. A week later, she had still been on the run.

The bloodthirsty ghost had somehow entranced another Pokémon to go after her, and if her problems hadn't been serious enough...

The ghost Pokémon opened its mouth, spewing a fiery jet of hot flame. The flames erupted into a circle around her, stopping her from moving any further.

"Flamethrower!? From a ghost Pokémon!?" Charlotte screeched as she looked around for an exit. There was a small gap in the flames, and she took the chance to run through. Now she had a fire-breathing ghost on top of whatever else was chasing after her.

Two could play with fire though.

"Mimikyu, mimic Mortissa's flamethrower!" Her Pokémon copied Mortissa's flame and fired it straight back. Embers lit up the night sky as falling leaves were burned to a crisp, whilst shadows danced around the trees. Mortissa had dodged the attack and had zoomed off ahead, landing not far from Charlotte's position.

Suddenly, Mortissa's form began to change. Similar to watching a Ditto transform into another Pokémon, except a lot more ghostly, Mortissa's Haunter form began to morph into that of a young girl, wearing a old-fashioned, gothic-style dress. It was hard to make out the little girl's face, but her eyes glowed crimson in the darkness. Those eyes were filled with bloodlust and anger.

"So you're the little girl..." Charlotte whispered. "The one who died..."

The girl opened her mouth, looking as though she was about to speak. But before she could say a word, the beast chasing them before had almost caught up, letting loose another terrifying roar into the night.

Clenching her teeth in anger, the girl began to draw in the air with her finger, leaving behind a green trail of ghostly, glowing vapor, just like ink. Charlotte couldn't read what she was writing at all.

But it looked ominous. As she finished drawing what looked like a demonic pentagram with an inscription, the girl glared at Charlotte as the pentagram began to glow fiercely.  
Charlotte herself began to glow with the same green light, and her body was suddenly wracked with pain.

 _To those who claim to love that which is most precious.  
For that which claims to be invincible chivalry.  
And to the one who spoke naught but falsehoods to those joined together by blood.  
May this hex steal everything you have ever cherished and loved._

After her words echoed around the forest, the girl had vanished into thin air. The green light surrounding Charlotte had vanished, but she could still feel the searing pain in her memory as she leaned onto the ground for support, panting heavily.

"What... did she do to me?" She breathed. But she wasn't allowed much more time to rest. The Pokémon chasing them earlier had finally caught up, and was swinging a giant limb towards her.  
In the blink of an eye, Mimikyu had dove in front of the paw and knocked it out of the way, taking the brunt of the attack. Bruised and severely damaged, Mimikyu could no longer move.

"You need... to run!" Mimikyu breathed her words as Charlotte returned her into a Poké ball. Not wasting anytime, she took the advice, and ran like hell, dodging another swipe from what looked like an out-of-control Ursaring. The giant bear Pokémon began to chase her once again, but the fire in the forest had gotten out of control, impeding the bear's path.

Leaving the insanity-driven Pokémon behind, Charlotte kept running, dodging trees, flames and hoping to see an exit out of the hell that surrounded her.

A tree branch, weakened by the flames, snapped under its own weight, hurtling to the ground. Before she had any time to react, the branch caught her head-on, scraping her face and scouring her left arm.  
But the worst injury was a thinner part of the branch that had penetrated her lower back, protruding through just a shade away from her stomach. Her luck had finally run out.

Blood shot from her injuries, and the weight of the tree pulled her down to the ground. Flames and searing pain once again surrounded her. Her eyes began to water from the agony as she screamed towards the heavens. It was unbearable, like someone had taken a white-hot poker and thrust it through her abdomen, after stroking her face and arm with it.

Coughing wildly, more dark-colored blood began spewing from her mouth as she tried freeing herself from the natural weapon. With what remaining strength she had, she broke the part of the branch that had speared her lower torso and tried to stand up, with difficulty.

As she stumbled through the forest, leaving the fires behind, she realized she had lost far too much blood. Her vision was spinning, her head was a foggy mess, and her injuries were going numb. After stumbling against a tree to throw up some more blood, she tried walking on, very much aware that she was more than likely going to die here.

Grinning painfully, she saw a sparkling light ahead of her.

"That damn ghost actually got me... Heheh..."

The sparkling light looked like more flames, but she could vaguely make out some figures standing next to it.

"I wonder... if that's anyone... friendly... " She coughed and spluttered as she stumbled closer to the blurry scene.

"I don't... think I can... sur- *cough* -vive... anymore... bad stuff... tonight..."

The closer she got, the more relieved she was. It sounded like a young trainer, and his Pokémon.

"It's someone... just like *cough*... me..."

After a few, very wobbly steps, she had managed to clear the forest into the young man's little enclosure. From what her eyes were telling her, he was about the same age as her, maybe a little older. He had long, dark brown... or was it black hair? She couldn't tell. Her strength was completely lost. All she remembered was his bright, red eyes, looking at her in shock as she collapsed to the ground.

"Guys! Get... first aid kit... grab my- ...kéNav... call for help!" She couldn't hear properly anymore. Her senses were slowly draining away as she lost contact with the world around her.

This must be what dying was like.

She could vaguely feel herself being picked up, and the young man's face rushed into view through the black fog that was creeping around her vision.

"What the hell happened to you?" His voice was tinny, as though it was coming from very far away.

"...wild Pokémon... out of... control... you feel... warm..." Her whole body lurched, and she felt that searing pain come back one last time, before her sense of touch and pain completely left her. All she felt now was cold and numb, except for where the man was holding her. A small warmth that was strangely comforting.

If she could at least leave him with a name, something to remember her by, she could probably live on.

As a memory.

"H-hey, you gotta relax. Try not to talk..." She could tell from the sound of his panicked voice that she must look horrific. Her injuries had basically killed her after all.

"...my... na...*cough* name..."

"H-hey...!"

"...C-charlotte..." She tried reaching a hand towards his face. The effort seemed herculean now that she could barely move, but she needed to feel him, to make sure he was still there. Blood dripped down his cheek as she touched him gently.

"...please don't... please don't forget... me..."

As she breathed her last, her world turned dark. The pain was gone, but then so was everything else.

She couldn't see anything.  
She couldn't hear anything.  
She couldn't feel anything.

Just darkness, everywhere. Forever.

If she still had control over her face, she wanted to crack out one last, sad little smile.

"I wonder... if he'll remember me?"

...

The campsite had been silent for an awkwardly long period of time. Charlotte looked around at the Pokémon, confused and bewildered at the silence.

"So... That was last night's big adventure! Teehee!" She tried to break the ice by bringing some smiles to the conversation, but the small Minun wasn't having it.

"Don't teehee me, you _DIED!_ If it wasn't for the lottery-winning luck that two legendary Pokémon were around and you just happened to stumble into where we were, you'd be ghost-kill right now!"

"And living in the moment is a bad thing? I know I died, but then, by the kindness of everyone here, I survived to tell the tale. And more than anything, I know what I need to do now..." Staring at the floor, twiddling her fingers, Charlotte suddenly looked really nervous.

"I need... to face Mortissa. One more time!"

" _ARE YOU_ _KIDDING ME!?"_ The small electric Pokémon had jumped on top of Charlotte, pushing her down as he stood firmly on her chest. "The creepy ghost girl who doubles as a psychotic Haunter basically got you killed last night, and now you're saying you want to go find her!?"

"Yeah, but...-"

"Stuff your 'buts'! It's been god knows how long since I got to feel boobs like these, and I will literally do anything to stop you walking into death so I can continue to enjoy them!" Nora's feet gently tapped Charlotte's bosom as he talked. The molested in question giggled as she lay on the ground.

"Aren't you a pervy little thing? But before you continue to assault me, you might want to take a look at that particularly angry looking Plusle behind you." The color had never drained out of Nora's face so fast. Stepping gently off Charlotte's breasts, the terrified Minun gently put his hands into the air as a form of surrender and proceeded to look around.

The pure look of rage he had faced when he had finally dared to look Faye in the eyes had haunted his dreams for weeks afterwards.

...

"So we can both feel each other's pain... I guess we gotta be careful from now on." Zenea grumbled, not overly confident in himself. He was far too clumsy to ever promise he'd be a hundred percent okay.

"I'm sure I can trust you to take care of yourself." Charlotte had a seemingly dark grin on her face. "But there's something I should probably let you know."

"Around about tomorrow, my time of the month begins. And I get the cramps pretty bad."

"You're joking..."

The long road to Lilycove was fraught with dread and worry.

* * *

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